Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Ryan Bellerose is
visiting Northern California. A well-known
member of Canada’s first nations, Ryan is active in promoting and strengthening
indigenous solidarity , and defines Zionism as the Jewish’s peoples' indigenous solidarity movement As part of an ongoing anthropological study
of anti-Israel asshats in their native
environment, Ryan attended a protest in front of San Francisco’s venerable
Westin St. Francis hotel. The protest was promoted by assorted local extremist groups including International ANSWER, the Arab Resource
Organizing Center and Jewish Voice for Peace. Inside the hotel, hundreds had
gathered at an AIPAC dinner in support of friendship between the US and Israel.
That’s simply not allowed in San Francisco.

However, the protest was
only peripherally about the AIPAC dinner, with the promotional posters proclaiming
instead “Protest Israel”

Ryan’s
observations about the event have been published at Israellycool

Monday nights
protest featured the usual hateful elements we’ve come to expect from the local “progressive” community. Activists
expressed their support for the intifada- the violent uprising that has left
hundreds dead and wounded. Israel was
blamed for everything from Ferguson to the death of transsexuals in the Philippines.
Richard Becker’s ANSWER hit may have hit
rock-bottom by commandeering a wheelchair to transport their sound system- tacky, even
by ANSWER’s low standards.

No, Dick. Using a wheelchair for your sound system does not entitle you to a disabled placard.

Vitriolic racist
attacks were directed towards Ryan, both during and after the event

Excellent news from the civil rights activists at Informed Grads Landmark UAW International Ruling Rejects Local BDS Resolution In a landmark decision yesterday, United Auto Workers (UAW) International Union
granted an appeal filed by a member of the University of California student group Informed
Grads, thereby striking down a Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) resolution adopted by
UAW Local 2865 last year. UAW 2865 represents graduate student workers at all of the
University of California campuses. UAW International, the body that oversees all UAW locals in
the United States, set national precedent by denying the local organization the right to adopt
such a divisive and alienating measure. Over the past year, certain members of UAW 2865 championed a one-sided, counterproductive
BDS referendum that limits academic freedom and promotes discrimination based on national
origin. Rather than focusing on the needs of the student workers they were elected to
represent, these activists promoted an effort that seeks to undermine peaceful dialogue and
coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians. “All workers represented by UAW International can now rest assured that their union will not
support BDS tactics or endorse an extreme political agenda that is discriminatory, alienating,
and stifles academic freedom,” said Informed Grads member Karra Greenberg, who testified at
the appeal hearing. “The anti-Semitism and active promotion of hate that ran rampant
throughout this BDS campaign cannot and must not be tolerated. We applaud UAW
International for taking a firm position against BDS and discrimination based on religion or
national origin.” “We are very pleased by United Auto Workers (UAW) International Union’s forceful rejection of
BDS, which sets a powerful precedent for other labor unions and national organizations” said
Scott Edelman, a partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, the international law firm that
represented Informed Grads in its appeal. “This result was due to a real team effort between
our firm and Informed Grads, and I want to pay tribute to my colleagues Jesse Gabriel, Lauren
Eber, Neta Levanon and Will Brien for their dedication and hard work.”

From the International UAW:

"...it is our unanimous belief that the notion of BDS, credibly, espouses discrimination and vilification against Israelis and UAW members who are of Jewish lineage. From this perspective, we find that the BDS Resolution is systematic in its decrying orations about Israel and its stated atrocities against Palestinians. Conversely, as emphasized earlier, the local union’s critique of any other ethnicity or victimizer outside of the Israeli and /or Jewish population is not present in its arguments. Thus, the local union’s platform is apparent in its unfavorable stance against the state of Israel, Israelis and , invariably, Jewish union members.”

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Its Pallywood at its nadir and its nothing less than shameless exploitation of a disabled child, by an official of the Hamas government in Gaza. Someone who ought to know better- Dr. Basem Naim, the Former Minister of Health of Gaza has sent out a photo of a disabled toddler, claiming the boy was a victim of "Israeli terror". Nothing could be further from the truth. The child in this photo is Mohammed Al-Farra., who is living in Israel's Tel Hashomer hospital after being abandoned by his family.

Born in Gaza with a rare genetic disease, Mohammed's hands and feet were amputated because of complications from his condition, and the 3 1/2-year-old carts about in a tiny red wheelchair. His parents abandoned him, and the Palestinian government won't pay for his care, so he lives at the hospital with his grandfather.

"There's no care for this child in Gaza, there's no home in Gaza where he can live," said the grandfather, Hamouda al-Farra.

This cynical, exploitative and fraudulent image has been retweeted 179 times.

According to the New York Times, AIPAC is the most important organization affecting the US’s relationship with Israel. AIPAC works to lobby for pro-Israel legislation and to educate legislators on issues related to the US-Israeli relationship.

Every year, AIPAC holds gala events throughout the Bay Area. This year, the enemies of America and Israel, including extremist groups ANSWER and the Arab Resource Organizing Center (AROC) are planning on protesting the event, and harassing event attendees. They are calling for an end to the “unbreakable bond” that link our democracies.

San Francisco Voice For Israel will be there to be sure the pro-Israel voice is represented and to help ensure attendees will be able to enter the hotel unmolested.

Please come join us. The protests typically are only nominally about AIPAC and mostly about demonizing Israel.

Keep in mind that those who will be demonstrating against Israel excuse stabbings and car assaults on Israeli civilians. Many openly support such actions.If you are going back to a parking garage after our counterprotest, please travel in groups.

As always, feel free to make your own signs but please no signs or graphics offensive to any racial or ethnic group including but not limited to Arabs, Islam, or Palestinians.

Monday, December 7, 2015

In September, Gaza celebrated the grand opening of the al-Gayyar chocolate mall selling chocolate from around the world.

Owner Deeb al-Gayyar, in an interview with Al-Monitor said“Specific [chocolate] types used to enter Gaza through the tunnels. After allowing them to enter through the Karam Abu Salem [Kerem Shalom] commercial crossing, we started importing more types of chocolate from various countries. Because of the improved trade relations with Turkey, traders find it easier to import Turkish chocolate [brands], such as Solen, Ulker, Bifa, Alpella, Elit, which now dominate the [Gaza] market.”The Al-Gayyar Chocolate Company alone imports an average of 150 tons of chocolate a month for the Gaza market. Its not the only confectionery in the territory.From Al- MonitorMany new shops have specialized in chocolate for years, such as Bonboniara, which opened in 2011 on al-Wahda Street in central Gaza City. Its owner, Ahmed al-Muzaini, said, “My father was impressed with the idea of chocolate shops that spread in the West Bank during his visit there. So we decided to open this shop [in Gaza], which was met with great demand because of our unique innovation in packaging chocolates at various prices. … The economic situation affects demand, which increases during special events. Despite that, the prices are affordable, but still some people don’t visit such shops, while others visit three times a week to buy chocolate.”Khaled Subeih, the owner of On the Line, which opened in March on Al-Jalaa Street in central Gaza City, believes that “specialty shops selling chocolates have changed the culture of the people in Gaza, who like new things. Chocolate has become a key commodity for people of all ages, economic status, and for various social occasions.”After all, nothing says "open air prison" quite like gourmet chocolates.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

"For the last year, I have served with the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories. A military unit within the Ministry of Defense, COGAT is responsible for driving Israel’s civil policy in Judea and Samaria and towards the Gaza Strip. Our mission was simple, yet complicated: help Israel by helping the Palestinians. Improve the quality of civilian life as much as possible to create a positive dynamic of hope and progress. "Eylon Aslan-Levy, a British-Israeli political commentator writes about his stint in COGAT for the Times of IsraelWe worked with international partners to promote four new industrial estates in Judea and Samaria. We connected Rawabi to water. We signed a deal with the very generous Dutch to install a new cargo scanner at Kerem Shalom. We enabled the transfer of more than 2.5 million tons of construction materials to Gaza, virtually tripling the number of trucks entering the Strip. Just last week, we signed a deal with the PA for Palestinian cellular operators to develop 3G services. I wish I could discuss more, but alas, national security and secrecy prevent me.Sometimes I felt like I was working for the Israeli branch of an international aid organization. But this is a real unit in the Israeli army, acting in clear accordance with the political directives of the democratically elected government. Israel knows that whatever the fire holds, it needs foundations; we worked with the PA and international community to build them.

Out of 3.3 million visitors in 2014, 2.5 million arrived by air (78%) About 400,000 came through the land borders (12%) Tourism from the USA continued to represent the largest country of origin for incoming tourism to Israel, with 626,000 visitors arriving in 2014, (representing 19% of all incoming tourism), 1% more than 2013. In second place is tourism from Russia with 567,000 visitors, a decrease of 6%. Tourism from France takes third place, with about 301,000 visitors, followed by Germany (196,000) and the United Kingdom (179,000).

58% of tourists were first time visitors, and 42% returning visitors.

Since the Boycott, Divestment and sanctions movement was introduced in Durban in 2001, the Israeli economy has grown dramatically. Moodys continues to rate Israeli bonds A1. In spite of a variety of toothless student resolutions directed against Israel, not a single university has divested a penny from Israel- with many reaffirming and strengthening their relationships instead.

After nearly 15 years of BDS, Israel's reputation as the start-up nation remains unassailable. Senior representatives from leading multinational companies including AVG, Ford, GE, Tyco, GM, ProSieben, Mail.ru, Bloomberg, Yahoo are set to come to Tel Aviv on December 16 for the Axis Tel Aviv Corporate Edition 2015, aimed at connecting companies looking to invest in Israeli Big Data, Cloud, CyberSecurity, ICT, IOT, Mobile, and e-Commerce startups. Israeli startups had their best year ever in 2014, with exit deals totaling $15 billion, a dramatic increase from $7.6 million in 2013. 2014, 18 Israeli companies going public raised nearly $10 billion.

By any objective standards, BDS is a failed enterprise Any claim by the anti-Israel activists converging in Union Square that "BDS in winning" is just wishful thinking on their part.

Sunday, November 22, 2015

Hanukkah is coming up. Its the first war fought for religious self-determination-a celebration of light over darkness- of right over might. The tiny band of Maccabees fought to achieve religious self-determination from the Greeks, who had plundered and desecrated our holy Temple. Ultimately, the Maccabees triumphed over the strongest army in the world, and our Temple was rededicated.At its core Hanukkah represents the struggle to remain Jewish in a non-Jewish world, a struggle we still face even today.For 8 days we light candles, to celebrate the triumph of light over darkness.This poses a quandary for the "proud to be ashamed to be Jewish" folk at Jewish voice for Peace. The Syrian-Greek ruler Antiochus took control of our land in 170 C.E. To celebrate Hanukkah would be to acknowledge an ancient Jewish presence in the land. Whats an anti-Zionist to do? This, apparently.

From Jewish Voice for PeaceJoin your favorite rad Jewish friends to celebrate liberation and maybe learn a little?We'll light Shabbat AND Hanukkah candles, eat latkes and sufganiyot, talk about how we could reclaim the Hanukkah story for justice in Israel-Palestine. Also maybe we could talk about Jesus, another rad Jew that gets celebrated this time of year.

There you have it. Latkes and donuts and Jesus. A very Jewish Voice for Peace Hanukkah.UPDATEJVP Rabbi Lynn Gottleib has written the Jewish people out of the Hannukah story. After all, having Jews fighting for autonomy and religious freedom in the Holy land over 2,000 years ago is in direct opposition to the Palestinian narrative.

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Native American Zionist blogger Ryan Bellerose will be in the SF Bay AreaAvailable for events, meetings, interviews

Who: Ryan Bellerose, Native American Advocate for Israel

When: November-December 2015

Where: San Francisco Bay Area

Why: Ryan is an outspoken advocate for Israel, offering an indigenous perspective on the Jewish homeland and Jewish peoplehood. He confronts anti-semitism and anti-Israel bigotry with well-researched information. Ryan is working toward promoting Israel as the model for an indigenous people reclaiming their ancestral homeland and establishing a nation-state. Ryan is empowering both Jewish and North American indigenous peoples by explaining the commonality of indigenous struggles worldwide, and specifically Jewish struggles for self determination and how it applies to the global indigenous struggle.

Bio:

Ryan Bellerose is a Métis from Northern Alberta. His father, Mervin Bellerose, co-authored the Métis Settlements Act of 1989, which was passed by the Alberta legislature in 1990 and cemented his land rights. Ryan founded Canadians For Accountability, a Native rights advocacy group, and he is an indigenous rights activist. He has been active in the Human rights community in Canada for several years as well as working with youth both as a volunteer and in paid positions. Some of the advocacy work he has done involved assisting to remove corrupt tribal governments and he has been heavily involved in several groups advocating for indigenous rights around the world. Ryan has worked as a drug and alcohol counsellor at a recovery centre in northern Alberta, a youth counsellor in his hometown, building ice bridges in the far north of Canada, a substitute teacher for elementary, junior and senior high schools, a heavy machine operator, pipeline worker, a Security contractor, a wildfire firefighter, a GPS/GIS consultant, and as a business analyst and account rep at a major telecom. He is an avid athlete who plays semi pro tackle football during the summer for a team that has won 9 provincial and 3 national championships in 12 years. Ryan believes that effective advocacy is the key to making tangible changes and that maintaining culture is imperative for indigenous people even while getting more education. He is also a founding member in the Calgary United with Israel (CUWI) organization. Ryan is a self-proclaimed Zionist. Ryan has had several articles published in newspapers around the world on the subject of indigenous rights and their importance and has been blogging on a wide array of websites including Indian Country Today Media Network,Isreallycool.com, TimesofIsrael.com, Israel National News, CIJNews.com, and has appeared in Jerusalem Post, Toronto Sun, and many more.

Friday, November 20, 2015

According to a press release issued Tuesday morning by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office, the northern branch of the Islamic Movement has been declared "an illegal organization."

From the J Post"The practical significance of this decision is that any entity or individual belonging to the group from hereon out and any individual who grants this organization services or operates under its auspices will have violated a criminal statute and is subject to imprisonment," the government statement read..."For years, the Islamic Movement's northern branch has been waging a campaign of deceitful incitement under the banner of 'al-Aksa is in danger,' which blames Israel by falsely accusing it of intending to harm the al-Aksa mosque and to violate the status quo there," the government statement read."

"As part of these efforts, the northern branch formed groups of activists (Murabitun and Murabatat) whose job was to ignite provocations on Temple Mount," the government said. "These activities led to a significant rise in tensions on Temple Mount. A significant portion of the attacks that have been carried out recently were committed against the backdrop of this incitement and propaganda."

The northern branch of the Islamic Movement is led by Sheikh Raed Salah, who, according to UK Media Watch has

Thursday, November 19, 2015

Palestinian incitement and glorification of violence is a huge obstacle to peaceful co-existence.The Palestinian government, media and educational system are all complicit.

Recognizing this, earlier this month, 369 Members of Congress sent a letter to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, stating“Now is the time for the Palestinian Authority to take concrete steps to avoid further violence. This starts with a sustained effort to publicly and officially repudiate these attacks, ending the unacceptable incitement to violence emanating from Palestinian Authority officials and institutions, continuing important security cooperation with Israel and agreeing to unconditionally renew direct talks with the Israelis.”

The 68 Representatives (listed below), however, did not sign. If your Representative did not sign this letter, please call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, ask to be transferred to your Representative,and express your disappointment.For your reference, the names in red were endorsed by J street